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December 20, 2010 7:34 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for tips, advice, and resources on creating conversational ESL lessons for a third grade Korean boy.
I work at a hagwon (private after school academy) in South Korea. My boss created a new class for me to teach next month. There's only one student, a third grade boy. He knows basic vocabulary and grammar. The hagwon has its own textbooks but my boss wants me to create original material, like worksheets and homework sheets, for the class. I am not a certified teacher and I don't have prior experience, so any advice I could get on conversation based lessons and activities for a 60 minute class would be really appreciated!
I work at a hagwon (private after school academy) in South Korea. My boss created a new class for me to teach next month. There's only one student, a third grade boy. He knows basic vocabulary and grammar. The hagwon has its own textbooks but my boss wants me to create original material, like worksheets and homework sheets, for the class. I am not a certified teacher and I don't have prior experience, so any advice I could get on conversation based lessons and activities for a 60 minute class would be really appreciated!
There is really a wealth of materials online. Some of my favorites are http://www.english-4kids.com/games.html, http://www.esl-galaxy.com/speaking.html, http://www.englishclub.com/esl-lesson-plans/activities-games.htm. It can be difficult to find and/or create material for just one student, so you might have better luck if you taper your searches to private lesson (most ESL learning sites are classroom oriented).
Some of my favorite time fillers for one-on-one lessons are...
- 'Would you rather': a fun conversation game that's easily adaptable to new vocabulary. You simply think of two similarly gross/difficult/painful/fun things, and the other person must choose what they'd rather do. For example, if the unit is on winter weather, a question could be "Would you rather run around in the snow without shoes on, or be in a blizzard for 15 minutes." Though this seems to generally be a less than g rated adult game, it works really well for language lessons.
- 'I went to the beach and in my bag I carried...": this is another vocabulary reinforcement game. You simply go back and forth (or in a circle if there are more than two people) adding one item to the list of things you're taking to the beach after listing all the items you had said previously. Ie, "I went to the beach and in my bag I carried a book, an umbrella, sun lotion, a sandwich, etc." It actually gets quite hard as the list gets longer and longer. This game is also pretty adaptable to thematic vocabulary- just change the location you're going to.
-'Fortunately/unfortunately': Described here, this game is good for students who are pretty strong in English (while the previous two are more accommodating of more beginner students).
So these are pretty much just some handy go to games that are adaptable to two people (which in my experience can be tough to find online) and that help round out the worksheets and such that the previously mentioned websites offer. I find myself using them quite often when the lesson time stretches on and on and I need something to fill the minutes.
posted by isaypotato at 2:09 PM on December 20, 2010
Some of my favorite time fillers for one-on-one lessons are...
- 'Would you rather': a fun conversation game that's easily adaptable to new vocabulary. You simply think of two similarly gross/difficult/painful/fun things, and the other person must choose what they'd rather do. For example, if the unit is on winter weather, a question could be "Would you rather run around in the snow without shoes on, or be in a blizzard for 15 minutes." Though this seems to generally be a less than g rated adult game, it works really well for language lessons.
- 'I went to the beach and in my bag I carried...": this is another vocabulary reinforcement game. You simply go back and forth (or in a circle if there are more than two people) adding one item to the list of things you're taking to the beach after listing all the items you had said previously. Ie, "I went to the beach and in my bag I carried a book, an umbrella, sun lotion, a sandwich, etc." It actually gets quite hard as the list gets longer and longer. This game is also pretty adaptable to thematic vocabulary- just change the location you're going to.
-'Fortunately/unfortunately': Described here, this game is good for students who are pretty strong in English (while the previous two are more accommodating of more beginner students).
So these are pretty much just some handy go to games that are adaptable to two people (which in my experience can be tough to find online) and that help round out the worksheets and such that the previously mentioned websites offer. I find myself using them quite often when the lesson time stretches on and on and I need something to fill the minutes.
posted by isaypotato at 2:09 PM on December 20, 2010
You might spend some time reading together. I taught a Japanese girl about that age for a while, and I got her to read books to me. She attended an English international school full time, so probably more advanced than your student. She got to pick the books (mostly text-heavy picture books), although we did also have a go at the first Harry Potter book. She read to me and when we got to a word she didn't know we'd stop, discuss it (either translate it, define it in English, or both) and have her write it down.
60 minutes is a long lesson so this might be a good way to start or end the hour. You can also talk about what you both think of what you've read, so that's a good opportunity for conversation practice and to re-enforce new vocab.
posted by equivocator at 8:11 PM on December 20, 2010
60 minutes is a long lesson so this might be a good way to start or end the hour. You can also talk about what you both think of what you've read, so that's a good opportunity for conversation practice and to re-enforce new vocab.
posted by equivocator at 8:11 PM on December 20, 2010
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posted by Linnee at 1:10 PM on December 20, 2010